ServiceNow
`Discovery
`
`The IT Challenge
`IT organizations rely on the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to manage
`infrastructure changes and aid in diagnosis of problems – but many CMDBs struggle to remain
`current and do not contain the right type of information to drive processes effectively. As a
`result, IT staff cannot determine which business services are affected by changes, failures,
`or performance issues – nor can they easily determine root cause when a business service
`experiences problems.
`
`Without a repeatable and reliable method to find and identify devices and applications in an
`enterprise IT infrastructure, it is impossible to capture and maintain an accurate and up-to-
`date inventory with which to map relationships and dependencies. This poses a significant
`risk to service stability and can lead to financial waste such as paying unnecessary hardware
`maintenance and incurring software compliance penalties.
`
`The ServiceNow Solution
`ServiceNow® Discovery uses a secure agentless architecture to probe computers and other
`IP-enabled devices connected to an organization’s network for configuration details to keep
`the ServiceNow Configuration Management Database (CMDB) current – a critical step to
`automating service management. On computers, Discovery identifies the applications that
`are running and maps dependencies, such as an application on one server that uses a
`database on another server. This mapping information facilitates quicker service restoration
`from incidents, more effective root cause analysis and proactive problem resolution, lower-risk
`change execution, and better-informed business decisions.
`
`Discovery runs on an on-demand or scheduled basis to help ensure the accuracy of the
`configuration item (CI) data underpinning all ServiceNow IT service automation applications
`across the enterprise. For example, ServiceNow Asset Management uses inventory
`information from Discovery to better manage hardware lifecycles and software license
`compliance. Custom probes and sensors can be created to explore any IP-enabled device
`and custom applications can be discovered using Application Profile Discovery (APD).
`ServiceNow also easily integrates with third-party applications and data sources to collect
`additional information.
`
`CMDB
`ServiceNow
`Instance
`
`Optional
`
`HTTPS SOAP
`
`Firewall
`
`SSH, WMI, SNMP, PowerShell,
`CIM/WBEM, and VM Appliance
`
`MID Server
`App
`
`UPS/PDU
`Printers
`Routers
`Switches
`Load Balancer
`
`Network
`Proxy
`Storage Servers
`Linux Servers
`Windows OS
`UNIX Servers
`Virtual Systems
`
`Internal Network
`
`Secure agentless architecture gathers information about computers
`and network devices
`
`• Rapidly Gather Inventories
`and Map Dependencies
`Discover computers and other
`IP-enabled devices using a
`secure agentless architecture,
`and then automatically
`match discovered devices
`with existing CIs, assign
`CI relationships, and map
`dependencies in the CMDB.
`• Automate Service Processes
`Integrated mapping of
`hardware, software, and
`relationships facilitates quicker
`service restoration from
`incidents, more effective root
`cause analysis and proactive
`problem resolution, lower-risk
`change execution, and better-
`informed business decisions
`• Extend to Discover Any
`Device and Custom
`Application
`Create custom probes and
`sensors for any IP-enabled
`device, identify custom
`applications and their
`dependencies, customize
`CMDB fields, tables, and
`relationship descriptions,
`and federate with other
`data sources through
`integrations.
`
`www.servicenow.com
`
`Data Sheet
`
`Benefits
`
`1
`
`

`
`Secure Agentless Architecture
`ServiceNow Discovery is agentless - it does
`not require any permanent software to be
`installed on any computer or device to be
`discovered. A lightweight Java application
`called Management, Instrumentation, and
`Discovery (MID) Server runs as a Windows
`service or UNIX daemon on standard
`hardware, including virtual machines,
`already in a customer environment to
`facilitate communications. Multiple MID
`Servers, capable of handling thousands of
`devices each, can be deployed in different
`network segments to provide virtually
`unlimited scalability. The MID Server’s
`job during the discovery process is to
`execute probes and return results back
`to an associated ServiceNow instance
`for processing; it does not retain any
`information. MID Servers communicate
`by querying their associated instance for
`probes to run, and post the results of
`probes they’ve completed back to the
`instance. Within the instance, sensors
`process data collected by the probes. The
`MID Server starts all communications using
`HTTPS – which means communication
`is secure, and all communications are
`initiated inside the enterprise’s firewall. No
`special firewall rules or VPNs are required.
`Configuration of IP ranges, credentials, and
`schedules are all handled in ServiceNow.
`Credentials are stored using 3DES
`encryption. Once entered, ServiceNow has
`no way of ever displaying them again. Once
`at the MID Server, the standard encryption
`capabilities of SSH and WMI are used.
`
`Probes, Sensors, and
`Dependency Mapping
`The MID Server uses several techniques
`to probe computers and IP-enabled
`devices without using agents. For
`example, it uses SSH to connect to
`a Unix or Linux computer, and runs
`standard commands to gather information.
`Similarly, it uses the Simple Network
`Management Protocol (SNMP) to gather
`
`information from a network switch or a
`printer. Information is securely sent back
`to an associated ServiceNow instance
`for processing by the probe’s matching
`sensors. Discovery automatically maps
`hierarchical dependencies and assigns
`the appropriate relationship type between
`configuration items (CIs) that it finds.
`Application dependency mapping (ADM)
`creates upstream and downstream
`relationships between interdependent
`applications by identifying which devices
`are communicating with one another,
`which TCP ports they are communicating
`on, and which processes are running on
`these devices. All this information is used to
`automatically keep the ServiceNow CMDB
`up-to-date. Discovery employs identifiers
`to search the CMDB for CIs that match
`devices discovered in the network. These
`identifiers can be configured to instruct
`Discovery to take certain actions when
`device matches are made - or not made -
`to maintain data integrity.
`
`Customization and Integrations
`Custom probes and sensors can be created
`to explore any IP-enabled device. Application
`Profile Discovery (APD) enables ServiceNow
`Discovery to identify custom applications or
`applications that contain multiple processes
`and determine their dependencies. Data
`model fields, tables, and relationship
`descriptions can be customized in the CMDB
`to meet specific needs. ServiceNow also
`integrates with many third-party applications
`and data sources to collect additional
`information.
`
`Asset Management and Software
`License Compliance
`ServiceNow Asset Management uses
`information gathered by Discovery to help
`manage hardware inventory and software
`license compliance for application servers,
`databases, desktop/server applications,
`and more.
`
`CI relationships and dependencies are
`mapped automatically and clearly displayed
`
`Business service management map highlights
`supporting infrastructure connections
`
`Discover, Map and Monitor
`Business Services with ServiceNow
`ServiceWatch
`ServiceNow ServiceWatch complements
`Discovery with a top-down approach to
`discovering and mapping the relationships
`between data center components that
`comprise specific business services,
`providing insights into how services are
`delivered and how they are performing.
`Dashboards track the health of business
`services in real time, correlate service issues
`with infrastructure events, and configure
`metrics to alert based on business impact.
`
`www.servicenow.com
`
`© 2014 ServiceNow, Inc. All rights reserved.
`ServiceNow believes information in this publication is accurate as of its publication date. This publication could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. The information is subject to change without
`notice. Changes are periodically added to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. ServiceNow may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/
`or the program(s) described in this publication at any time. Reproduction of this publication without prior written permission is forbidden. The information in this publication is provided “as is”. ServiceNow makes no
`representations or warranties of any kind, with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
`ServiceNow and the ServiceNow logo are trademarks of ServiceNow, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
`
`ServiceNow Discovery
`
`Data Sheet
`
`SN-DS-Discovery-072014
`
`2